Web Server Administration
Chapter 1
The Basics of Server and Web
Server Administration
1
Overview






Review the Internet and the World Wide
Web
Learn about server administration
Learn about Web server administration
Explore the common tasks and services
performed by administrators
Examine networking building blocks
Compare Web server platforms
2
Review the Internet and the
World Wide Web

The Internet is a worldwide network of
networks



Where the Internet uses the HTTP protocol, it
is called the Web


Shares WAN used by the international
telecommunications network
Uses TCP/IP
Web servers use HTTP to communicate
The Internet is not centrally controlled
3
Review the Internet and the
World Wide Web


Internet had its origins in the 1960s
In 1995 a high-speed backbone was
created



Included 4 network access points (NAPs)
More have been created since then
Now much Internet traffic is handled
without going through NAPs

Peering agreements allow this
4
Understanding Server
Administration

Server administrators




Focus on the LAN
Provide access to software and services
Make sure environment is reliable and
consistent
Minimize harm that users can do to
network
5
Working with Users



A LAN can server hundreds or even
thousands of users
Users need to be productive
Users like consistency

Roaming profiles allow users to have the
same personalized desktop environment on
multiple computers
6
Establishing Access Control



Users need just enough access to do their
jobs, but not more
Typically, users are organized into groups,
and groups are given access to network
resources
Users can be given different access to the
same resources

A document can be read by everyone but modified
by only specific people
7
Understanding the Server
Environment



All but the smallest network includes
more than one server
With Windows computers, servers and
users’ computers can be organized into
domains in order to centralize control
In Windows 2000 and Windows Server
2003, domains can be grouped into
forests
8
Understanding Web server
Administration

Web server administrators focus on the
Internet



Need to work with ISPs and Web page
developers
Typically, a Web server provides
information to anyone who requests it
over the Internet
Web servers can contain other
applications such as FTP and e-mail
9
Understanding Web server
Administration

Depending on the size of the
organization, some tasks may be
delegated





Web page development
Database design
Programming
E-mail administration
Security
10
Selecting Programs and
Databases


Web server administrators need to install
programming languages
Web developers use a variety of languages

Active Server Pages (ASP)


ASP.Net


Original language from Microsoft
A newer environment that includes many languages
Java Server Pages (JSP)
11
Selecting Programs and
Databases

Non-Microsoft languages are popular,
even on Microsoft Web servers




Perl – one of the first and still popular
PHP – easy to use
Java Server Pages (JSP)
Macromedia ColdFusion
12
Selecting Programs and
Databases

A database management system (DBMS) is
used to store data used with Web pages



Microsoft Access is appropriate for small sites
Microsoft SQL Server, Oracle 9i, and MySQL are
sophisticated DBMSs for larger sites
Standard Query Language (SQL) is the
language used to communicate with the
DBMS
13
Managing E-mail Servers


Open by design to accept e-mail from
anyone
Spam can be a problem to manage


Specific utilities can be used to help
minimize spam
Viruses are commonly sent by e-mail

Use virus detection software and keep it
updated
14
Other Applications

Firewall


FTP


Helps protect your Web server environment from
attack
A service that allows users to download files from
and upload files to a server
DNS

Translates host names such as
www.technowidgets.com to an IP address
15
Administrators' Common Tasks
and Services




Installing and configuring systems
Maintaining security
Monitoring the system
Maintenance and backup
16
Network Building BlocksThe OSI Model
Layer Name
Description
7
Application
Responsible for low-level application access to the network.
6
Presentation
Can convert data into a format that is understandable to the
Application layer.
5
Session
Can open, maintain, and shut down communication.
4
Transport
Responsible for transporting the data from one computer to another.
(TCP and UDP)
3
Network
Primarily responsible for addressing between two computers. (IP
and ICMP)
2
Data Link
Responsible for the interface between the packets coming down
through the upper layers and the physical layer.
1
Physical
Responsible for transferring the data to the network medium.
17
TCP/IP Model
Layer
Name
Common
Components
OSI
Reference
Application
HTTP, SMTP, POP3
FTP, DNS
Application
Presentation
Session
Transport
TCP, UDP
Transport
Network
IP, ICMP
Network
Physical
Ethernet, FDDI
Data Link
Physical
18
TCP/IP Protocols

Hypertext Transfer Protocol (HTTP)


Simple Mail Transfer Protocol (SMTP)


Web servers implement this protocol
Used by e-mail servers (and sometimes
Web servers) to send e-mail
Post Office Protocol Version 3 (POP3)

Used to retrieve e-mail
19
TCP/IP Protocols

File Transfer Protocol (FTP)


Domain Name Service (DNS)


Transfers files to and from server
Translates host names to IP addresses and
IP addresses to host names
Transmission Control Protocol (TCP)

Creates a reliable connection between two
computers
20
TCP/IP Protocols

User Datagram Protocol (UDP)


Internet Protocol (IP)


Does not establish a connection, just sends
messages
Provides addressing scheme
Internet Control Message Protocol
(ICMP)

Provides error messages
21
Connecting Your LAN to the
Internet



Your ISP connects to the Internet
A WAN connection is used between
your building and the ISP
A T-Carrier connection is often used

A digital connection for voice and data
22
Common T-Carrier
Connections
23
Connecting to the Internet
24
Other ways to Connect to the
Internet

Integrated services digital network (ISDN)




Digital Subscriber Line (DSL)



Dial-up access
Basic Rate Interface (BRI) up to 128 Kbps
Primary Rate Interface (PRI) up to 1.544 Mbps
Often differing speeds for uploads and downloads
Depending on type, up to 6.1 Mbps for downloads
and 1.544 Mbps for uploads
Cable Modem

Shared access cable provided by cable TV
company
25
Web Hosting Solutions

Standard hosting



Dedicated server


Your site resides on the same computer with many
other sites
Cheapest solution
You have a server that only you use
Co-location

Your own server is physically located at the
company that does your Web hosting
26
Web Server PlatformsMicrosoft

Windows NT (IIS 4)


Windows 2000 (IIS 5)



IIS (Internet Information Server) was added in the
mid-1990s, and support for ASP was added later
IIS part of the OS from the beginning
.NET Framework add-on allows use of ASP.NET
Windows Server 2003 (IIS 6)

.NET Framework integrated into OS
27
Other Microsoft Server
Products

Application Center


Biztalk Server


Allows you to manage a cluster of servers as
if it is one server
Connects to your business partners using XML
Commerce Server

Builds e-commerce sites in a short amount of
time
28
Other Microsoft Server
Products

Internet Security and Acceleration Server


Operations Manager


Combines a firewall product with a Web cache
Helps decrease support costs for a server
environment
SharePoint Portal Server

Set up a site that is highly personalized
29
UNIX/Linux


UNIX was introduced in 1969
Linux is from the early 1990s


Based on MINIX
Three basic components



Kernel – central portion of OS
File system – provides input and output
mechanisms
Shell – provides user interface
30
Linux

Source code is freely available


Developers can make changes
Available from a number of
organizations



Red Hat
Mandrake
SuSe
31
Summary





Server administration focuses on LANs
Web server administration focuses on
the Internet
Both types of administrators install,
configure, and maintain servers
Many pieces make up the network
There are many Web server platforms
from which to choose
32